1. Field of the Invention
This disclosure relates to an ophthalmologic apparatus for performing operations such as image acquiring, an image acquiring control method as a method of controlling the ophthalmologic apparatus, and a recording medium for storing a program for causing a computer or the like to execute the control method.
2. Description of the Related Art
An ophthalmologic apparatus (ophthalmologic OCT apparatus) for acquiring a fundus tomographic image by scanning and photographing an eye to be inspected by utilizing optical interference of near infrared laser light, and a laser scanning ophthalmoscope (ophthalmologic SLO apparatus) for acquiring a fundus image by using a confocal system are known as an image acquiring apparatus (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-110392). In particular, the OCT apparatus is an apparatus that can acquire a high resolution tomographic image of a sample, and has become an essential ophthalmologic apparatus in a specialty outpatient clinic for retina. The OCT apparatus is used not only for ophthalmologic apparatus but also for an endoscope, and the like.
Further, in order to support diagnosis of various diseases, a test object (for example, a fundus of the eye to be inspected) is scanned in various scan conditions (different scan patterns and different scan ranges) for photography. The OCT apparatus splits low coherent light into reference light and measuring light, scans and irradiates the test object with the measuring light, and causes interference between return light from the test object and the reference light so that a high resolution tomographic image of the test object can be acquired. Further, a specific region is scanned with the measuring light in a one-dimensional manner so that a two-dimensional tomographic image is acquired, and further the two-dimensional tomographic images are acquired repeatedly while shifting the position so that a three-dimensional image can be acquired.
In such a conventional image acquiring apparatus, the test object (for example, the fundus of the eye to be inspected) is irradiated continuously also in a time period for changing a scan pattern to the next scan pattern. This is because, in the case where the apparatus includes a first monitor for displaying a real-time observation image (moving image) before acquiring an image and a second monitor for displaying the acquired image (still image) after acquiring the image, it is preferred that the real-time observation image (moving image) can be always observed on the first monitor. In addition, the same is true in the case where the real-time observation image and the acquired image are displayed simultaneously on a single screen.
However, in an apparatus for performing repetitive inspection and measurement using various scan patterns, there occurs a new problem of the influence of irradiation light amount integrated over time on a subject because the test object is always irradiated.